A madman in France? How come he's always at crime scenes!

Fang Lue looked at the captain's silent back and then glanced at Wu Liang, who was all smiles. He felt that there was a strange tacit understanding between the two of them.

It was more like a silent negotiation than a tacit understanding. Team Leader Zhao tacitly agreed to let Wu Liang follow, and Wu Liang wisely kept quiet.

The three asked Old Liu for Ni Dayong's specific address and situation. His wife's name was Jiang Cuilan, and he had only one seventeen-year-old daughter named Ni Xiang.

As Wu Liang walked, he pondered in his mind.

He had clearly seen Old Liu's reaction just now. When Ni Dayong's wife was mentioned, the old man's expression changed visibly.

Why don't you want to say?

It's highly likely because that incident was disgraceful, which aligns with the story of "human traffickers" in the pamphlet.

If his guess is correct, Ni Dayong's wife from out of town probably came from an illegitimate background.

Zhao Anmin's expression also became more somber than before.

He and Wu Liang thought about the same thing.

When he first joined the police force in 1990, he spent three years working at a local police station. During those years, he handled no fewer than a dozen cases of human trafficking in his jurisdiction.

Some of the women were rescued after being sold for years and even had children. Some were even found by their families with mental health issues.

Not to mention the many more cases that went undetected.

At that time, places like Shiqiao Village were hotspots for such cases. Its remote location, poor economy, and large number of bachelors made it a hub for human traffickers who would bring abducted girls there – a complete service.

Could Ni Dayong's wife be one of them?

If so, then there is a reasonable explanation for Sha Yuanbao's repeated trips to Shiqiao Village.

A small business owner who runs a bathhouse has access to some special channels and comes to Shiqiao Village to "deliver goods".

But this raises a new question: according to Liu Laohan, the man who was suspected to be the deceased and Ding Hu came to Shiqiao Village and only looked for Ni Dayong's family.

Do human traffickers offer after-sales service?

What role did Ding Hu, who caused trouble at the police station entrance in the Zhou Hai case, play in this incident?

Zhao Anmin kept these questions to himself and quickened his pace.

Ni Dayong's courtyard is located at the east end of the village, with blue brick walls and an iron gate.

Fang Lue raised his hand and knocked on the door.

No one answered.

He knocked twice more, and a girl's voice came from the courtyard.

Who is it?

"Hello, we are..." Fang Lue turned to look at Zhao Anmin, then changed his tone, "Little friend, are your parents home?"

A moment later, the iron gate opened a crack.

A young girl's face peeked through the crack in the door. She looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a ponytail, fair skin, and a hint of wariness and confusion in her eyes.

He was holding a ballpoint pen in his hand, looking like he was doing his homework when the knocking interrupted him.

Who are you looking for?

"Is this Ni Dayong's house?"

"Yes." The girl nodded. "My dad isn't home; he went to the city on business."

Zhao Anmin and Fang Lue exchanged a glance.

Not home. What a coincidence!

Wu Liang stepped forward, squatted down, and aligned himself with the girl's line of sight.

"Little sister, what's your name?"

The girl had big eyes, blinked rapidly, and hesitated for a moment.

"Ni Xiang".

"Ni Xiang, a nice name." Wu Liang's face was warm and approachable, making one feel comfortable at first glance. "When did your father go out?"

"This morning," Ni Xiang said, still a little nervous as she looked at the three unfamiliar men, "who exactly are you?"

"Young lady, we are staff members from the neighborhood committee." Wu Liang took out his lawyer's license from his pocket, opened it and showed it to her. "We've been compiling household registration information in the village recently. Your father didn't fill in one item on the form he filled out before, so we've come to complete it."

The lawyer's certificate was displayed casually, like a work ID he casually pulled out, and he put it away before Ni Xiang could even see it clearly.

Zhao Anmin stood behind, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly.

Using a lawyer's license to impersonate a neighborhood committee official—how could he even think of that?

But after this series of punches, Ni Xiang's expression clearly relaxed.

"Oh... then come in and sit down." She opened the door halfway and called out into the yard, "Mom, the uncles from the neighborhood committee are here."

There was no response from inside the courtyard.

Ni Xiang turned her head, her expression becoming somewhat embarrassed.

My mom...she's not very talkative.

The courtyard was much tidier than Wu Liang had imagined.

The cement floor was swept clean, and several potted green plants with glossy leaves were piled in the corner. Washed clothes, belonging to men, women, and children, were hanging on the clothesline, arranged neatly.

There was a wooden table in the middle of the courtyard, and on the table was an open summer homework book.

Ni Dayong's wife, Jiang Cuilan, was sitting on a small stool next to the table.

She appeared to be around forty years old, wearing a floral short-sleeved shirt. She had delicate features and a pair of bright, almond-shaped eyes, but her gaze was vacant, and she showed no reaction to the three strangers who entered the courtyard.

Wu Liang's gaze swept over the middle-aged woman.

Clean.

He was clean from head to toe. Although his clothes were a bit old, they were washed very thoroughly, and his face did not have the ashen complexion often seen in people who have been ill for a long time.

Ni Xiang ran to her mother's side, bent down, and whispered in her ear, "Mom, the uncles from the neighborhood committee are here."

Jiang Cuilan raised her head, glanced blankly at her daughter, nodded, and smiled at the three of them.

Ni Xiang straightened up, turned her head away embarrassedly, her expression showing a hint of awkwardness and helplessness.

"My mother is sick, please don't mind her."

"It's nothing." Wu Liang's gaze swept across the yard. "Your house is so clean, look, it's spotless."

Upon hearing this, Ni Xiang's expression immediately became proud.

"Hehe, my dad did it all. He said it's more comfortable to live in a clean and tidy house."

Zhao Anmin silently scanned every corner of the courtyard. Fang Lue stood behind him, holding a notebook, unsure whether to take notes or not.

Wu Liang's gaze fell on the woman again.

Jiang Cuilan, Ni Dayong's wife, and Ni Xiang's mother.

A woman who was very likely trafficked.

A question popped into Wu Liang's mind.

Logically speaking, the only purpose of buying a wife from outside is to have a son to carry on the family line.

Ni Dayong's family only has one daughter, and this daughter is even raised very well.

She had fair skin, dressed neatly, and was doing her homework at home during summer vacation. Her speech and behavior were very proper, just like a city girl.

Wu Liang pretended to be looking around the courtyard and slowly walked to Jiang Cuilan's vicinity.

The woman was drawing something with her head down. Wu Liang turned his gaze to the side and saw that she was tracing a Chinese character.

"fragrant".

Zhao Anmin was still chatting casually with Ni Xiangla, and every question he asked hit the nail on the head.

"How well-liked is your dad in the village?"

"It's great." Ni Xiang tilted her head. "My dad helps out whenever anyone in the village needs help."

"How does he usually treat you and your daughter?"

"My dad is so good to me, and he's good to my mom too. Sometimes my mom wakes up crying at night, and my dad stays with her until dawn."

The little girl spoke with pride and grace.

Zhao Anmin and Fang Lue exchanged a glance. These words came out so naturally from the mouth of a seventeen-year-old girl, they didn't sound like polite phrases that had been taught to be spoken.

But now that Ni Dayong has disappeared, and given the current clues, Zhao Anmin will not dismiss his suspicions about Ni Dayong based solely on Ni Xiang's one-sided statement.

"Xiao Fang, make a call to the team and check on Ni Dayong..."

Taking advantage of Wu Liang's distraction from Ni Xiang, Zhao Anmin pulled Fang Lue aside and whispered instructions.

But before he could finish speaking, the tin gate at the entrance of the courtyard creaked open.

Wu Liang and the other two turned their heads at the same time.

A robust, rugged-looking middle-aged man stood at the door, carrying a bag in his left hand and holding a candied hawthorn in his right, his expression showing confusion.

Ni Xiang's eyes lit up when she saw who it was.

"Dad, you're back."